Commodity identification device

ABSTRACT

A user-friendly article identifying device capable of retaining voice data associated with a tag. The device contains a tag reading section; a voice data input section; a storage section; a determining section; a voice data replay section; and a controller for governing all the sections above. First, the tag reading section reads a tag having a specific identifier, and then the voice data input section accepts voice data. Storage section, which contains a voice data table, a tag/address table, and a memo data table, stores voice data from the input section so as to associate with the specific identifier of a tag. The determining section judges whether the tag identifier read by tag reading section is retained in the storage section. Voice data replay section replays the voice data associated with the identifier according to the judgment by the determining section.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an article identifying device capableof reading information on articles through, for example, a wireless tagattached thereto, and providing a user with the information by voice.

BACKGROUND ART

According to statistics, the number of people having weak eyes includingthe blind amounts to 350,000 in Japan. They live with difficulties andinconveniencies in daily life as a member of society, since most ofinformation from the outside is obtained by visual recognition. To helpsuch people, various studies on information technology (IT)-basedsupport system have been making progress.

For example, Japanese Patent Non-Examined Publication No. 2001-350485discloses a fixed-type wireless article identifying device forsupporting such a handicapped person living alone. To be more specific,articles to be identified have a wireless tag that contains informationon each article. When a tagged-article is brought close to the articleidentifying device, information on the article is provided as a voice.In recent years, there has been a growing demand for more convenientdevice-not only a fixed-type, but also a mobile device with a compactand lightweight structure.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of the present invention, the identifying deviceincludes a tag reading section for reading information out of a tag; avoice data input section for entering voice data after readinginformation of a tag; a storage section for storing voice data fed fromthe voice data input section; and a voice data replay section forreplaying voice data stored in the storage section. The user can confirmvoice data one by one each time depressing the voice data replaysection.

As another aspect of the present invention, the identifying deviceincludes a tag reading section for reading information out of a tag; avoice data input section for entering voice data; a storage section forstoring voice data fed from the voice data input section; and a voicedata replay section for replaying voice data stored in the storagesection. The tag reading section reads a tag with a specific identifierwhile and/or after the voice data replay section replays voice datastored in the storage section. Thereby, the voice data storage sectionstores voice data so as to associate with the identifier assigned toeach tag.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a general constitution of an article identifying device ofan exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a structure of the storage section of the articleidentifying device of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows another state of the storage section of the articleidentifying device of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 shows still another state of the storage section of the articleidentifying device of the embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CARRYING OUT OF THE INVENTION

The exemplary embodiment of the present invention is describedhereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. In FIG. 1, tag10 contains a specific identifier (hereinafter referred to as tagidentifier).

Article identifying device 100 can read tag identifier 1 attached to tag10 via wireless communications. Article identifying device 100 is formedof tag reading section 101; voice data input section 102; storagesection 103; determining section 104; voice data replay section 105; keyentry section 106; and controller 112. Tag reading section 101, which isformed of an antenna and the like, reads tag identifier 1 of tag 10.Voice data input section 102 inputs voice data after tag 10 is read out.Storage section 103 stores voice data fed from input section 102 so asto associate with tag identifier 1 of tag 10. Storage 103 contains, asshown in FIG. 2 through FIG. 4, tag/address table 103 a for storing tagidentifier 1 paired with the address of voice data that is associatedwith tag identifier 1; voice data table 103 b for storing voice data,and memo data table 103 c for storing memo data as voice message.Determining section 104 judges whether or not tag identifier 1 read bytag reading section 101 is retained in storage section 103. Voice datareplay section 105 replays, according to the result from determiningsection 104, the voice data associated with the identifier.

Key entry section 106, which is responsible for operating articleidentifying device 100, further includes readout key 107 for startingreadout of tag identifier 1 of tag 10; data input key 108 for inputtingvoice data: memo key 109 for replaying memo data stored in memo datatable 103 c; erase key 110 for erasing information from storage section103; and power key 111 for turning identifying device 100 ON or OFF.

Now will be described how to input voice data into article identifyingdevice 100 with reference to FIG. 1.

First, depressing power key 111 turns identifying device 100 ON.Further, depressing readout key 107 enables controller 112 to sendreadout command to tag reading section 101. Receiving the command, tagreading section 101 reads out tag identifier 1 of tag 10 attached withan article. Next, determining section 104 judges whether or not tagidentifier 1 read by tag reading section 101 is retained in storagesection 103. When tag identifier 1 is found in tag/address table 103 aof storage section 103, the voice data associated with tag identifier 1is fetched from voice data table 103 b. The voice data is replayed fromvoice data replay section 105 as a voice. On the other hand, when tagidentifier 1 is not found, a beep sound by a beeper (not shown) tellsthe user that the tag identifier is not stored in article identifyingdevice 100. In this case, voice message can tell, instead of the beepsound, the absence of the tag identifier.

When the user depresses data input key 108 after tag identifier 1 of tag10 is read out, controller 112 enables voice data input section 102 intovoice data acceptable mode from input disabled mode. While holding inputkey 108 down, the user can input voice data through voice data inputsection 102. When the user releases input key 108, controller 112changes the mode of input section 102 into the input disabled mode.

Here will be described in some detail the voice data input operation.First, when the user inputs voice data on an article, with input key 108been held down, an A/D converter built in voice data input section 102converts the voice data into a digital signal. Next, controller 112sends, to determining section 104, tag identifier 1 read by tag readingsection 101 and the voice data entered through voice data input section102. Receiving tag identifier 1 and the voice data, determining section104 searches storing section 103 for tag identifier 1 that correspond tothe tag identifier read by reading section 101. If the search fails tofind matching tag identifier 1, storage section 103 newly stores the tagidentifier and the voice data associated with the tag identifier. On theother hand, when determining section 104 finds tag identifier 1identical to the tag identifier read by reading section 101, storagesection 103 stores the voice data so as to associate with tag identifier1, that is, an existing voice data is overwritten with the voice datajust entered.

Now will be described how to replay voice data from article identifyingdevice 100 with reference to FIG. 1.

Like the data input operation above, depressing readout key 107 enablescontroller 12 to send readout command to tag reading section 101.Receiving the command, tag reading section 101 reads out tag identifier1 of tag 10 attached with an article. Determining section 104 judgeswhether or not tag identifier 1 read by tag reading section 101 isretained in storage section 103. When tag identifier 1 is found intag/address table 103 a of storage section 103, the voice dataassociated with tag identifier 1 is fetched from voice data table 103 b.Receiving the voice data, voice data replay section 105 provides thedata with digital-to-analog conversion, so that the data is replayed asa voice. On the other hand, when tag identifier 1 is not found instorage section 103, controller 112 activates the beeper (not shown) togo off a beep sound, telling the user that there is no record on thevoice data.

Here will be described the structure of storage section 103 forretaining information including voice data, with reference to FIG. 2through FIG. 4.

To make a quick search of storage section 103 for tag identifier 1 readby article identifying device 100, storage section 103 containstag/address table 103 a, in which tag identifier 1 is paired with theaddress of voice data table 103 b where the voice data associated withtag identifier 1 is stored. Each time data is entered, the data isstored in tag/address table 103 a. Determining section 104 searchestag/address table 103 a whether tag identifier 1 is stored or not.

Now will be described the storing process of storage section 103 whenvoice data is entered one by one, using a plurality of tags 10 each ofwhich has tag identifier 1 unregistered in storage section 103. Intag/address table 103 a, the data is well organized in chronologicalorder, i.e., the older data comes first, as shown in FIG. 2. Thechronological order of the table can provide the user with an easyunderstanding of data history when the user confirms, by ears, the dataone by one.

Next described is another storing process 6 f storage section 103—in thecase that the voice data, which is associated with already existing tagidentifier 1 in tag/address table 103 a, is overwritten with a new voicedata, i.e., in the case that the user reuses tag 10 for an article to benewly identified. In this case, the data of tag/address table 103 a israndomly stored, no longer kept in orderly time sequence. If table 103 astored data in the order ignoring time sequence, it would be difficultfor the user to confirm the data one by one from the beginning of thetable.

To address the inconsistency above, according to the embodiment, tagidentifier 1 to be newly stored is always placed after the most recentlystored record even if tag identifier 1 is already exists in tag/addresstable 103 a, and then the older tag identifier 1 is blanked out. At thesame time, all the records (each of which includes tag identifier 1paired with the address data) consecutive to the blanked record areshifted backward in the chronological ordering, as shown in FIG. 4, toeliminate a vacant record in the table. In this way, tag identifier 1can be sorted in the order of time sequence, that is, the well-organizeddata helps the understanding of the user when the user confirms, byears, the data one by one.

Here will be described how to confirm the voice data stored in storagesection 103 of article identifying device 100 without reading tagidentifier 1 of tag 10. Suppose that tag/address table 103 a has thecontents shown in FIG. 4.

The user cannot confirm voice data stored in storage section 103 ofdevice 100 until each tag identifier 1 of a plurality of tags 10 has tobe read out. The procedure is troublesome, especially for a visuallyhandicapped person, it would be difficult. Therefore, identifying device100 should be furnished with the function that can replay the voice datastored in storage section 103 without reading tag 10.

In other words, it is necessary that device 100 can go into a voice-datareplay mode without reading tag identifier 1 of tag 10. As an exampleamong some possible choices, the structure of the embodiment realizesthis by combination of readout key 107 and power key 111; specifically,with readout key 107 held down, turning the power ON by power key 111allows device 100 to go into the voice-data replay mode.

After the voice-data replay mode has been established through theoperation above, depressing readout key 107 enables device 100 to a)read the first record, i.e., the oldest record (in time-sequence) oftag/address table 103 a; b) fetch a voice data from voice data table 103b, which is associated with the address stored in the oldest record; andc) replay the voice data as a voice from voice data replay section 105.

Each time the user depresses readout key 107, device 100 replays voicedata one after another in the chronological order. Besides, when theuser depresses key 107 while device 100 is replaying a voice data,device 100 skips the interrupted replay and replays next record. Withthe “fast forward” operation, the user can quickly confirm the voicedata.

Although the replay of voice data is provided in the chronological orderin the description above, it is not limited thereto; the replay inreverse chronological order, for example, by depressing readout key 107for a predetermined period may be useful. With such a useful functionequipped, device 100 can be user-friendly.

In the confirmation process of voice data, a replay of a voice data maymake the user aware that tag 10 associated with the voice data has beenlost or broken. In this case, during the interval that device 100 isreplaying the voice data and/or after replaying, the user can depresserase key 110 for a predetermined period (for example, 10 seconds).Through the key operation, the voice-data-relating records in voice datatable 103 b and tag/address table 103 a can be erased, whereby theuseless area in storage section 103 is eliminated.

The description above has been given based on the premise that device100 performs voice data input in communication with tag 10 throughfollowing processes: reading tag identifier 1 of tag 10, receiving avoice data through voice data input section 102, and then storing tagidentifier 1 and the voice data associated therewith in storage section103. Here will be described another input process used only device 100,with reference to FIG. 4. According to the input process, the user caninput, in advance, voice data on articles to article identifying device100, even if tag 10 is not there. After that, the voice data stored instorage section 103 can be associated with tag 10 through the processbelow.

Storage section 103 contains memo data table 103 c, which is used forthe “in-advance” input. Table 103 c can carry voice data for theduration of about 100 seconds. That is, when 5 seconds is spent for eachrecord, 20 records of voice data (hereinafter referred to as memo) canbe stored in table 103 c. Table 103 c provides sequential and cyclicread/write. Suppose that the records of table 103 c are allocated toaddresses of 1, 2, . . . K, K+1, . . . N−1, N. When a lot of voice dataare stored in table 103 c, each data is sequentially allocated ataddress 1 toward address N. When table 103 c is fully occupied withvoice data from address 1 to address N, successive data is sequentiallyoverwritten from the record of address 1.

Now will be described the operation of the “in-advance” input-in thiscase, as described above, the voice data is associated with tag 10 afterinput operation.

First, voice data on articles is fed into article identifying device100; specifically, holding input key 108 down, the user inputs (at leastone piece of) voice data through voice data input section 102. The voicedata is stored in memo data table 103 c.

Next will be described how to associate the voice data in table 103 cwith tag 10.

When the user depresses memo key 109, voice data replay section 105replays the voice data of address K where the latest voice data isstored. (If it is the first-time operation for the user and table 103 ccarries only one voice data, replay section 105 replays the voice dataof address 1.) At this time, if the voice data is useless for the user,the user inputs new voice data, holding input key 108 down. In responseto the key operation by the user, controller 112 of device 100overwrites the voice data into memo data table 103 c. When voice data iscontinuously coming through input section 102, controller 112 moves theaddress pointer to K+1 so that the incoming voice data is stored at theaddress where “the oldest” data is retained. Since memo data table 103 csequentially and cyclically stores voice data, the record (i.e., ofaddress N+1) next to the record having current voice data (i.e., ofaddress N) carries “the oldest” data.

On the other hand, depressing memo key 109 allows the user to audiblyconfirm the voice data stored in memo data table 103 c. In response tothe depression, voice data replay section 105 replays the voice data ataddress K where the latest voice data is retained. Further, anotherdepression of key 109 allows the user to obtain the voice data previousto the latest data, i.e., the data at address K−1. In the confirmationprocess of voice data, controller 112 controls to move the addresspointer in reverse chronological order so that the newer data comesfirst.

Associating process of voice data with tag 10 will be described below.

First, the user depresses memo key 109 to confirm a voice data stored inmemo data table 103 c. When the user depresses readout key 107 i) duringthe interval that device 100 is replaying the voice data; and/or ii)within a predetermined interval (e.g. 10 seconds) since the replay hasbeen completed, tag reading section 101 reads tag identifier 1 of tag 10to be associated. Through the readout, the voice data is stored in voicedata table 103 b, while tag identifier 1 and the address, which tellsthe location in table 103 b of the voice data associated with tagidentifier 1, is retained in tag/address data table 103 a.

In this way, voice data can be entered into device 100 in advance, andthen the data can be associated with tag 10.

With the “in-advance input”, the user can conveniently input, as areminder, voice data on an article purchased during shopping into device100, and after that, the user can associate the voice data with tag 10.

As described earlier in the embodiment, the user can audibly confirm thevoice data stored in voice data table 103 b one by one. The confirmationprocess can be so designed that voice data replay section 105 replays amessage notifying no more record on the completion of voice data replay.The user can thus know the end of the voice data replay.

In addition, controller 112 may contains a clock/calendar circuit, withwhich voice data can be stored with the date in voice data storagesection 103. It is convenient for the user, in the voice dataconfirmation process, that voice data can be obtained together withdate/time data on which the voice data is stored.

The clock/calendar function is exploitable in extracting the voice datastored in a user-specified period of time and replaying them.

Furthermore, the voice data and the date/time data can be used for tag10, that is, the user can associate the date/time, on which tag 10 isread, with the voice data illustrating tag 10, so that voice data on tag10 stored in a user-specified period of time can be obtained in thevoice data confirmation process.

As another convenience, controller 112 controls voice data replaysection 105 so as to replay by voice, at the beginning of the replayprocess, the number of records of the voice data stored in storagesection 103.

Although the voice data entered through voice data input section 102 isconverted into a digital signal before storage, it is not limitedthereto; the voice data can be stored as the analog form.

Radio Frequency Identification System (RFID) tag is an example of tag 10used in the embodiment. In this case, article identifying device 100should read/write the RFID tag.

As described above, the article identifying device of the embodiment hashigh utility, especially for a visually impaired user, it will be a goodhelp in daily life.

The user can make use of tag 10 in distinguishing, for example, books,containers carrying beverages, and bags containing medicines.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

According to the article identifying device of the present invention,the user can easily confirm the voice data stored in the device, and canerase an undesired data from the device. The user can input voice datain the device in advance without a tag. After the input procedure, theuser can associate the voice data with a tag.

1. An article identifying device comprising: a tag reading section forreading a tag; a voice data input section for accepting voice data inputafter the readout of the tag; a voice data storage section for retainingthe voice data entered through the voice data input section; and a voicedata replay section for replaying the voice data stored in the storagesection, wherein, the voice data can be audibly confirmed one by oneeach time the voice data replay section is depressed.
 2. The articleidentifying device of claim 1, wherein the voice data replay sectionreplays the voice data in chronological order.
 3. The articleidentifying device of claim 1, wherein the voice data replay sectionreplays a message notifying no more record in the storage section on thecompletion of voice data replay.
 4. The article identifying device ofclaim 1, wherein the device further includes a clock/calendar circuit,voice data can be audibly confirmed with date/time data on which thevoice data is stored.
 5. The article identifying device of claim 1,wherein the device further includes a clock/calendar circuit, voice datastored in a predetermined period can be audibly confirmed.
 6. Thearticle identifying device of claim 4, wherein the clock/calendarcircuit allows the device to replay voice data stored in a predeterminedperiod.
 7. The article identifying device of claim 1, wherein the devicefurther includes a clock/calendar circuit, allowing the device to replayvoice data on the tag that has been read out in a predetermined period.8. The article identifying device of claim 4, wherein the clock/calendarcircuit allows the device to replay voice data on the tag that has beenread out in a predetermined period.
 9. The article identifying device ofclaim 1, wherein the voice data replay section replays by voice thenumber of records of the voice data stored in the voice data storagesection prior to the voice data replay.
 10. The article identifyingdevice of claim 1, wherein the device further includes voice dataerasing means, and the voice data can be erased through depression ofthe means while the voice data replay section is replaying the voicedata and/or after the voice data replay.
 11. An article identifyingdevice comprising: a tag reading section for reading a tag; a voice datainput section for accepting voice data input after the readout of thetag; a voice data storage section for retaining the voice data enteredthrough the voice data input section; and a voice data replay sectionfor replaying the voice data stored in the storage section, wherein, thetag reading section reads a tag having a specific identifier in themiddle of, and/or on completion of voice data replay, the voice datastorage section retains the voice data so as to associate with thespecific identifier of the tag.